Item transport systems, such as mailpiece handling systems, for example, are known in the art. These systems include inserter systems, which create mailpieces and prepare them for mailing, as well as sortation systems, which sort completed mailpieces and direct the mailpieces to storage pockets or bins, depending on the system's configuration. Sortation of mailpieces may be carried out either prior to mailing (i.e., outsorting) or upon receipt from a postal carrier (i.e., insorting). Other types of transport systems and related applications are known.
In some mailpiece handling systems, mailpieces are transported using belts or chain drives between stations where they undergo various types of processing. The processing may include cutting, folding, scanning, weighing, printing, and labeling, for example.
Some systems are configured to process mailpieces of different sizes and/or different types. In one example, a sortation system may be configured to process envelopes of different sizes. Other systems may be configured to process different types of mailpieces, such as envelopes, postcards, magazines, and catalogs, for example.
Although such systems have the ability to process mailpieces of different types and sizes, most systems have an upper limit on the thickness of the mailpieces they are capable of processing. The upper limit may be dictated by the dimensions of the various processing elements in the system, as well as the features of the transport elements of the system, such as nip dimensions, for example.
In some cases, mailpieces that exceed a system's maximum design thickness may be provided to the system for processing. Those mailpieces may cause jams or malfunctions in the system or may damage the system's components. Shutdowns associated with system malfunctions decrease the system's operating efficiency.
Efforts are currently made to remove excessively thick mailpieces from the mailpiece input stream. In association with those removal efforts, other mailpieces that merely appear to exceed the system's design thickness may be removed from the mailpiece input stream. Often, mailpieces are within a system's processing range, but are covered with loose wrapping material, for example, that gives the impression of excessive thickness. Removal of those mailpieces also reduces the system's efficiency.